Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet. SaaS is one of three main categories of cloud computing, alongside Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
Many investment firms are realising that the implementation, support and maintenance of their systems is better served by third-party experts allowing the investment firm to focus on its core businesses. SaaS allows firms to do exactly this. Today many SaaS systems are securely hosted in the public cloud. In July 2018 the FCA published Final guidance FG 16/5 “Guidance for firms outsourcing to the ‘cloud’ and other third-party IT services” specifically to ‘help all firms to effectively oversee all aspects of the life cycle of their outsourcing arrangements: from making the decision to outsource, selecting an outsource provider, and monitoring outsourced activities on an ongoing basis, through to exit’.
Many people will be familiar with SaaS applications for fundamental business technologies i.e. sales tools, office tools, (CRM) etc. Leading providers include Salesforce, Oracle and Microsoft. However, there is a growing community of providers focussed on highly specific verticals within these sectors. Specifically, for client reporting systems, no longer does the investment firm have to build, maintain and upgrade the system, and ensure it is available for the users to produce their client and fund reports. SaaS systems in this space allow the firms users to simply log in and use the system to produce client reports. This approach means that investment firms, asset and wealth managers can focus on their business – managing money and servicing clients – and leave the client reporting system in the hands of the experts.
Of course, the Software as a Service reporting system requires data, content and users (the reporting team) to produce the reports. In this model the data and users are provided by the investment firm, just like for an in-house built reporting system. The data is simply ingested by the cloud-based system and the reporting team log in to the system from their desk to review and produce the reports.
Opus Nebula provide Reporting as a Service® (RaaS), a cloud-based fund and client reporting system that takes the model one stage further by adding additional valuable services i.e. report design and layout, data optimisation and normalisation, and best practice work-flow to the above models. Simple to implement, as there is nothing to install in your environment, all the set-up and configuration is undertaken by us. Our on-going fees are calculated on a per report basis – simple and transparent. The provision of the system and the day to day support, maintenance and any enhancements required are all undertaken by Opus Nebula, leaving the investment firm free to focus on managing money and servicing clients. Leave the reporting system to the experts – after all it’s all we do, and we’re very experienced and very good at it.
To find out more about Reporting as a Service and how it benefits asset management and wealth management firms of all shapes and sizes please visit our website at www.opus-nebula.com or contact us at [email protected].
Opus Nebula